As used herein, “proprioception” means a sense of relative position of neighboring parts of the body and effort expended in movement. In humans, proprioception is provided by, for example, proprioceptors or muscle spindles (sensory receptors that detect, for example, changes in length) in skeletal striated muscles, tendons, and fibrous capsules in joints.
Nervous system injuries and disease can result in impairment of proprioception. For example, phantom limb pain can occur in amputees, which is the experience of pain which seems to come from the amputated limb; Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (“CRPS”) can cause persistent pain following injury to a nerve; and stoke patients can experience impairment of motor abilities following neurological damage.
Some patients with proprioception impairments obtain benefits from “mirror box therapy.” In mirror box therapy, a patient places both an affected limb and an unaffected limb in a box which contains a mirror or set of mirrors. The mirrors make it appear as though the unaffected limb is in the location of the affected limb. The patient makes “mirror symmetric” movements with both limbs. If the box and the patient's perspective are properly aligned, the patient sees the unaffected limb move in the location of the affected limb.
There is debate regarding why this therapy works for some patients. For example, there is a hypothesis that providing visual sensory feedback provides relief from “learned paralysis” as well as a hypothesis that the therapy enhances spatial coupling between the affected limb and the unaffected limb. There is less debate that some patients do, in fact, obtain therapeutic benefit from this therapy. For example, some patients report reduction of phantom pain and reduction in sensations that the affected limb is locked in a clenched and potentially painful position.
However, mirror box therapy is not convenient, as it requires that the patient have access to a mirror box or suitably configured mirror or set of mirrors and that the patient's mobility be limited or controlled during a therapeutic session.
In reviewing the Figures, a viewer may view one entire page at a time and flip from one page to the next; this will reveal a “flip-book” effect of the drawing sheets, which is intentional. Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.